Greetings from Miller, South Dakota!
September 26, 2024: Thank you to all who got us here through your prayers and financial support. What blessings we have had up to this point on our mission trip and there are many more to come.
We left Lynchburg, Virginia on Sept. 5 and it took us two and a half days to get us to our first ministry location – Salem, Missouri, population 4,950. We were welcomed with open arms and hearts, and so blessed by the kindness, generosity, and love of the church family at Oak Grove Baptist Church.
Blessings:
• We stayed at the church in Salem in a building that once was used as the day-care center and youth house. This 2-story “White House” was converted into two areas. The downstairs is an amazing fun place for the youth with pool table, ping pong, pop-a-shot and so much more. A nice kitchen for feeding the youth for different events and a full-wall size digital screen.
The upstairs was our living quarters and what a nice space with two bedrooms, a big kitchen,1 ½ baths, and a huge open living room/game room. The “White House” is right next door to the church, so it was very convenient.
• The church folks were very hospitable, friendly and generous. They were willing to go out of their way to help us. Each night a family hosted us for dinner, either in their home or they treated us at a local restaurant. What a wonderful time it was to really get to know several of the congregation. Thank you all!
• I got to share many times in our 8-days in Salem: AWANA program, the Pre-K to 5th graders, 5th Quarter youth ministry that brings in about 130 teenagers, Sunday School class, Sunday morning overview of our ministry, and the Sunday evening service.
• While in Salem, we bicycled through town, witnessing and meeting several folks, sharing the Gospel message, inviting them to church, and encouraging them to read the Bible to know the Truth and Jesus’ message of salvation and hope. We also met many other Bible-believing Christians, it was great to encourage them to share their faith and to keep praying for our country.
• We were invited to attend lunch at the Catholic church for their once a month “feed the hungry” program from some folks we had met in town. While there, we talked with the priest and several from his congregation. I was able to present a very short, but to the point message of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. As I was ready to leave, a man said to me, I really like your T-shirt (Life Is Great with Jesus.) I responded by saying, “Yes, life is great with Jesus when we recognize that He loved us so much that He died on the cross for our sins. Then I continued by adding, “I always thought that if I was good enough, I would get to heaven. However, if that is true, WHY did Jesus have to die on the cross?”
He responded by just saying, “I’m glad we got to meet you and thanks for sharing with us.”
I thanked him and the folks again for lunch, gave them each a copy of my personal testimony, and a cross penny with my bicycle link, and concluded by saying, “I will pray for you all that you have placed your faith and trust in Jesus and His Word, and I’ll see you in heaven.” It was awesome how God allowed me that extra moment to share the truth!!!
• Our weather has been great, only one day of rain. That was a nice blessing because it gave us some time onside to catch up on office work, do laundry, and communicate with family and friends back home.
• PICKLEBALL in Salem! It was a wonderful blessing, and a huge success, to start a Pickleball Ministry at the church. We had set aside 4 days for Pickleball clinics, and we had 10 church people come out to learn to play and they had so much fun. As a result of us putting Pickleball fliers out in the churches and the Community Center in town, we had 2 unchurch people come out to learn how to play and came back for 2 sessions. Several children also want to learn how to play so the church will be lining a mini-court for the kids. The church will continue to reach out in the community and invite folks to come to Oak Grove for Pickleball and to hear about Jesus. Each day we took a time-out and I shared a short message from the Word of God and then we took prayer requests and prayed. That is such a precious time on the Pickleball court!
Prayer Requests:
• Pray for those who heard the gospel, that they will accept Jesus as their own Lord and Savior.
• Pray for the church folks we have met and shared with that they have been encouraged to Go and Tell the Good News to those in their communities.
• Pray for their Pickleball ministry to grow and many we come to hear the gospel and accept Jesus as their Savior.
• Please pray for our last week of ministry where I will be speaking at the Sunshine Christian School and at St. Lawrence Community Church this week.
• Please pray for our safety as we head out next Sunday afternoon to make the long trip, 1,800 mile to home.